Flowers is clearly in time-biding mode. If Andruw Jones is ever pressed into full-time outfield duty, whether it’s due to Juan Pierre’s ineptitude or Carlos Quentin’s poor health, Flowers should be the first option to serve as the majority DH and occasional catcher.

Allow me to reiterate that Flowers seems like he’ll be a slow starter at the major-league level due to his K-rate. For whatever reason — probably because A.J. Pierzynski is a great clubhouse source — there are a lot of people waiting, perhaps even hoping, for Flowers to fail. But he’s the only hope the Sox have of getting an above-average hitter for the league minimum, so that kind of pressure seems to be counterproductive.